-This is the beta-test version of the GNU assembler. (Probably
-around Version 1.38, but check version.c which gets updated more
-often than this readme.)
-
-These files are currently set up to allow you to compile all of the
-versions of the assembler on the same machine. 'make all' compiles
-all of them. The resulting executable names are:
-
- 68020 a68
- Vax avax
- NS 32xxx a32k
- Intel 80386 a386
- SPARC asparc
- AMD 29000 asm29k
-
-The Makefile contains instructions on how to make one of the
-assemblers compile as the default.
-
-Before you can compile the 68020 version of the assembler, you must
-make m68k.h be a link to m-sun3.h , m-hpux.h or m-generic.h . If
-you are on a SUN-3 (or other machine that uses a magic number of
-(2 << 16) | OMAGIC type 'ln -s m-sun3.h m68k.h' else if you are on a
-machine running HP-UX, type 'ln m-hpux.h m689k.h' else type
-'ln -s m-generic.h m68k.h' If your machine does not support symbolic
-links, omit the '-s'.
-
-See the instructions in the Makefile for compiling gas for the Sequent
-Symmetry (dynix 3.0.12 + others?) or for the HP 9000/300
-
-If your machine does not have both varargs.h and vfprintf(), but does have
-_doprnt() add -DNO_VARARGS to the CFLAGS line in the makefile. If your
-machine has neither vfprintf() or _doprnt(), you will have to change
-messages.c in order to get readable error messages from the assembler.
-
-The assembler has been modified to support a feature that is
-potentially useful when assembling compiler output, but which may
-confuse assembly language programmers. If assembler encounters a
-.word pseudo-op of the form symbol1-symbol2 (the difference of two
-symbols), and the difference of those two symbols will not fit in 16
-bits, the assembler will create a branch around a long jump to
-symbol1, and insert this into the output directly before the next
-label: The .word will (instead of containing garbage, or giving an
-error message) contain (the address of the long jump)-symbol2. This
-allows the assembler to assemble jump tables that jump to locations
-very far away into code that works properly. If the next label is
-more than 32K away from the .word, you lose (silently); RMS claims
-this will never happen. If the -k option is given, you will get a
-warning message when this happens.
-
-
- REPORTING BUGS IN GAS
-
-Bugs in gas should be reported to bug-gnu-utils@prep.ai.mit.edu If you can't
-get through to prep, try hack@gnu.ai.mit.edu or hack@media-lab.media.mit.edu
+-*- text -*-
-If you report a bug in GAS, please remember to include:
+ README for GAS 2.2.1 release
+ [cribbed largely from GDB's README file]
-A description of exactly what went wrong.
+This is version 2.2.1 of the GNU assembler.
-The type of machine GAS was running on (VAX, 68020, etc),
+A number of things have changed and the wonderful world of gas looks very
+different. There's still a lot of irrelevant garbage lying around that will
+be cleaned up in time. Documentation is scarce, as are logs of the changes
+made since the last gas release. My apologies, and I'll try to get something
+useful.
-The Operating System GAS was running under.
+Unpacking and Installation - Summary
+====================================
-The options given to GAS.
+In this release, the GNU assembler ("gas") sources, the generic GNU include
+files, the BFD ("binary file description") library, and other libraries all
+have directories of their own underneath the gas-2.2.1 directory. The idea is
+that a variety of GNU tools can share a common copy of these things.
+Configuration scripts and makefiles exist to cruise up and down this directory
+tree and automatically build all the pieces in the right order.
-The actual input file that caused the problem.
+When you unpack the gas-2.2.1.tar.z file, you'll find a directory called
+`gas-2.2.1'. To build GAS, you can just do:
-It is silly to report a bug in GAS without including an input file for
-GAS. Don't ask us to generate the file just because you made it from
-files you think we have access to.
+ cd gas-2.2.1
+ ./configure
+ make
+ cp gas/as.new /usr/local/bin/as (or whereever)
-1. You might be mistaken.
-2. It might take us a lot of time to install things to regenerate that file.
-3. We might get a different file from the one you got, and might not see any
-bug.
+This will configure and build all the libraries as well as GAS. If
+`configure' can't determine your system type, specify one as its argument,
+e.g., sun4 or decstation.
+
+If you get compiler warnings during this stage, see the `Reporting Bugs'
+section below; there are a few known problems.
+
+GAS can be used as a cross-assembler, running on a machine of one type while
+producing object files for a machine of another type. See below.
+
+Documentation
+=============
+
+The GAS release includes texinfo source for its manual, which can be processed
+into `info' or `dvi' forms.
+
+The DVI form is suitable for printing or displaying; the commands for doing
+this vary from system to system. On many systems, `lpr -d' will print a DVI
+file. On others, you may need to run a program such as `dvips' to convert the
+DVI file into a form your system can print.
-To save us these delays and uncertainties, always send the input file
-for the program that failed.
+If you wish to build the DVI file, you will need to have TeX installed on your
+system. You can rebuild it by typing:
-If the input file is very large, and you are on the internet, you may
-want to make it avaliable for anonymous FTP instead of mailing it. If you
-do, include instructions for FTP'ing it in your bug report.
+ cd gas-2.2.1/gas/doc
+ make as.dvi
------------------------------- README.APOLLO ---------------------------------
+The Info form is viewable with the GNU Emacs `info' subsystem, or the
+standalone `info' program, available as part of the GNU Texinfo distribution.
+To build the info files, you will need the `makeinfo' program. Type:
-The changes required to get the GNU C compiler running on
-Apollo 68K platforms are available via anonymous ftp from
-labrea.stanford.edu (36.8.0.47) in the form of a compressed
-tar file named "/pub/gnu/apollo-gcc-1.37.tar.Z".
-The size of the file is 84145 bytes.
+ cd gas-2.2.1/gas/doc
+ make info
+
+Installing GAS
+==============
+
+GAS comes with a `configure' script that automates the process of preparing
+GAS for installation; you can then use `make' to build the program.
-To build GCC for the Apollo you'll need the virgin FSF
-distributions of bison-1.03, gas-1.34, and gcc-1.37. They
-are also on labrea.stanford.edu as well as prep.ai.mit.edu.
-My changes are to enable gas to produce Apollo COFF object
-files and allow gcc to parse some of the syntax extensions
-which appear in Apollo C header files. Note that the
-COFF encapsulation technique cannot be used on the Apollo.
-
-The tar file should be unpacked in the directory containing
-the gas-1.34 and gcc-1.37 directories; a few files will be overlaid,
-and an APOLLO-GCC-README file will appear in the top directory.
-This file contains detailed instructions on how to proceed.
+The GAS distribution includes all the source code you need for GAS in a single
+directory, the name of which is usually composed by appending the version
+number to `gas'.
-These changes will only work for SR10.1 or later systems, using
-the 6.6 or later version of the Apollo C compiler.
+The simplest way to configure and build GAS is to run `configure' from the
+`gas-VERSION-NUMBER' source directory, which in this example is the `gas-2.2.1'
+directory.
-If you do not have ftp access, I can mail you the changes in the
-form of diffs; they are approximately 40K in length. If you request
-them, be sure to give me a voice phone number so I can contact you
-in case I can't send you mail; I've had several requests in the
-past from people I can't contact.
+First switch to the `gas-VERSION-NUMBER' source directory if you are not
+already in it; then run `configure'. Pass the identifier for the platform on
+which GAS will run as an argument. For example:
-By the way, I'm working on getting the GNU C++ compiler running;
-there are a couple problems to solve. I hope to be able to announce
-the Apollo version shortly after the 1.37 version is released.
+ cd gas-2.2.1
+ ./configure HOST
+ make
-John Vasta Hewlett-Packard Apollo Systems Division
-vasta@apollo.hp.com M.S. CHA-01-LT
-(508) 256-6600 x6362 300 Apollo Drive, Chelmsford, MA 01824
-UUCP: {decwrl!decvax, mit-eddie, attunix}!apollo!vasta
+where HOST is an identifier such as `sun4' or `decstation', that identifies
+the platform where GAS will run.
-------------------------------------
+Running `configure HOST' followed by `make' builds the `bfd', `opcode', and
+`libiberty' libraries, then `gas' itself. (Exception: For VMS, the `bfd'
+library is not used.) The configured source files, and the binaries, are left
+in the corresponding source directories.
-You might refer others who are interested in a similar thing.
+The `configure' program is a Bourne-shell (`/bin/sh') script; if your system
+does not recognize this automatically when you run a different shell, you may
+need to run `sh' on it explicitly:
+
+ sh configure HOST
+
+If you run `configure' from a directory that contains source
+directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the `gas-2.2.1'
+source directory for version 2.2.1, `configure' creates configuration
+files for every directory level underneath (unless you tell it not to,
+with the `--norecursion' option).
+
+You can run the `configure' script from any of the subordinate directories in
+the GAS distribution, if you only want to configure that subdirectory; but be
+sure to specify a path to it.
+
+For example, with version 2.2.1, type the following to configure only the `bfd'
+subdirectory:
+
+ cd gas-2.2.1/bfd
+ ../configure HOST
+
+Compiling GAS in another directory
+==================================
+
+ If you want to run GAS versions for several host or target machines,
+you need a different `gas' compiled for each combination of host and
+target. `configure' is designed to make this easy by allowing you to
+generate each configuration in a separate subdirectory, rather than in
+the source directory. If your `make' program handles the `VPATH'
+feature (GNU `make' does), running `make' in each of these directories
+builds the `gas' program specified there.
+
+ To build `gas in a separate directory, run `configure' with the
+`--srcdir' option to specify where to find the source. (You also need
+to specify a path to find `configure' itself from your working
+directory. If the path to `configure' would be the same as the
+argument to `--srcdir', you can leave out the `--srcdir' option; it
+will be assumed.)
+
+ For example, with version 2.2.1, you can build GAS in a separate
+directory for a Sun 4 like this:
+
+ cd gas-2.2.1
+ mkdir ../gas-sun4
+ cd ../gas-sun4
+ ../gas-2.2.1/configure sun4
+ make
+
+ When `configure' builds a configuration using a remote source
+directory, it creates a tree for the binaries with the same structure
+(and using the same names) as the tree under the source directory. In
+the example, you'd find the Sun 4 library `libiberty.a' in the
+directory `gas-sun4/libiberty', and GAS itself in `gas-sun4/gas'.
+
+ One popular reason to build several GAS configurations in separate
+directories is to configure GAS for cross-compiling (where GAS runs on
+one machine--the host--while debugging programs that run on another
+machine--the target). You specify a cross-debugging target by giving
+the `--target=TARGET' option to `configure'.
+
+ When you run `make' to build a program or library, you must run it
+in a configured directory--whatever directory you were in when you
+called `configure' (or one of its subdirectories).
+
+ The `Makefile' that `configure' generates in each source directory
+also runs recursively. If you type `make' in a source directory such
+as `gas-2.2.1' (or in a separate configured directory configured with
+`--srcdir=PATH/gas-2.2.1'), you will build all the required libraries,
+and then build GAS.
+
+ When you have multiple hosts or targets configured in separate
+directories, you can run `make' on them in parallel (for example, if
+they are NFS-mounted on each of the hosts); they will not interfere
+with each other.
+
+
+Specifying names for hosts and targets
+======================================
+
+ The specifications used for hosts and targets in the `configure'
+script are based on a three-part naming scheme, but some short
+predefined aliases are also supported. The full naming scheme encodes
+three pieces of information in the following pattern:
+
+ ARCHITECTURE-VENDOR-OS
+
+ For example, you can use the alias `sun4' as a HOST argument or in a
+`--target=TARGET' option. The equivalent full name is
+`sparc-sun-sunos4'.
+
+ The `configure' script accompanying GAS does not provide any query
+facility to list all supported host and target names or aliases.
+`configure' calls the Bourne shell script `config.sub' to map
+abbreviations to full names; you can read the script, if you wish, or
+you can use it to test your guesses on abbreviations--for example:
+
+ % sh config.sub sun4
+ sparc-sun-sunos411
+ % sh config.sub sun3
+ m68k-sun-sunos411
+ % sh config.sub decstation
+ mips-dec-ultrix42
+ % sh config.sub hp300bsd
+ m68k-hp-bsd
+ % sh config.sub i386v
+ i386-unknown-sysv
+ % sh config.sub i786v
+ Invalid configuration `i786v': machine `i786v' not recognized
+
+`config.sub' is also distributed in the GAS source directory
+(`gas-2.2.1', for version 2.2.1).
+
+
+`configure' options
+===================
+
+ Here is a summary of the `configure' options and arguments that are
+most often useful for building GAS. `configure' also has several other
+options not listed here.
+
+ configure [--help]
+ [--prefix=DIR]
+ [--srcdir=PATH]
+ [--norecursion] [--rm]
+ [--target=TARGET] HOST
+ [--with-OPTION]
+
+You may introduce options with a single `-' rather than `--' if you
+prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
+
+`--help'
+ Display a quick summary of how to invoke `configure'.
+
+`-prefix=DIR'
+ Configure the source to install programs and files under directory
+ `DIR'.
+
+`--srcdir=PATH'
+ *Warning: using this option requires GNU `make', or another `make'
+ that implements the `VPATH' feature.*
+ Use this option to make configurations in directories separate
+ from the GAS source directories. Among other things, you can use
+ this to build (or maintain) several configurations simultaneously,
+ in separate directories. `configure' writes configuration
+ specific files in the current directory, but arranges for them to
+ use the source in the directory PATH. `configure' will create
+ directories under the working directory in parallel to the source
+ directories below PATH.
+
+`--norecursion'
+ Configure only the directory level where `configure' is executed;
+ do not propagate configuration to subdirectories.
+
+`--rm'
+ Remove the configuration that the other arguments specify.
+
+`--target=TARGET'
+ Configure GAS for cross-assembling programs for the specified
+ TARGET. Without this option, GAS is configured to assemble .o files
+ that run on the same machine (HOST) as GAS itself.
+
+ There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
+ targets.
+
+`--with-OPTION'
+ These flags tell the program or library being configured to assume the
+ use of certain programs, or to otherwise configure themselves differently
+ from the default for the specified host/target combination. See below
+ for a list of `--with' options recognized in the gas-2.2.1 distribution.
+
+`HOST ...'
+ Configure GAS to run on the specified HOST.
+
+ There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
+ hosts.
+
+`configure' accepts other options, for compatibility with configuring
+other GNU tools recursively; but these are the only options that affect
+GAS or its supporting libraries.
+
+The `--with' options recognized by software in the gas-2.2.1 distribution are:
+
+`--with-minimal-bfd'
+ This causes the BFD library, if it is used by the assembler, to only link
+ in support for the specified target; by default, support for all targets
+ known to BFD is linked in, even though the assembler generally won't
+ be able to use them. This will probably be made a default, or replaced
+ by a better mechanism, for gas-2.1.
+
+`--with-bfd-assembler'
+ This causes the assembler to use the new code being merged into it to use
+ BFD data structures internally, and use BFD for writing object files.
+ For most targets, this isn't supported yet. See `BFD CONVERSION' in the
+ file `gas/NOTES'.
+
+Supported platforms
+===================
+
+At this point I believe gas to be ansi only code for most target cpu's. That
+is, there should be relatively few, if any host system dependencies. So
+porting (as a cross-assembler) to hosts not yet supported should be fairly
+easy. Porting to a new target shouldn't be too tough if it's a variant of one
+already supported.
+
+Native assembling should work on:
+
+ sun3
+ sun4
+ 386bsd
+ bsd/386?
+ linux
+ m68k hpux 8.0 (hpux 7.0 may be a problem)
+ vax bsd, ultrix, vms
+ hp9000s300
+ decstation
+ iris
+ miniframe (m68k-sysv from Convergent Technologies)
+ i386-aix (ps/2)
+
+For cross-assemblers, I believe hosting to work on any of the machines listed
+above, plus:
+
+ rs6000
+ sun386i
+ at least some flavors of hpux (hpux 7.0 may be a problem)
+ most flavors of sysV
+
+I believe that gas as a cross-assembler can currently be targetted for:
+
+ 386bsd
+ bsd/386?
+ decstation-bsd (a.out format, to be used in BSD 4.4)
+ ebmon29k
+ go32 (DOS on i386, with DJGPP)
+ h8/300, h8/500 (Hitachi)
+ hp9000/300
+ i386-aix (ps/2)
+ i960-coff
+ linux
+ mips ecoff (decstation-ultrix, iris, mips magnum)
+ nindy960
+ sco386
+ sun3
+ sun4
+ vax bsd or ultrix?
+ vms
+ vxworks68k
+ vxworks960
+ z8000 (Zilog)
+
+MIPS ECOFF support has been added, but GAS will not run a C-style
+preprocessor. If you want that, rename your file to have a ".S" suffix, and
+run gcc on it.
+
+Support for ns32k, tahoe, i860, m88k may be suffering from bitrot.
+
+Support for ELF is being worked on. It should be available in version 2.2.
+
+This version does not support the IBM RS/6000. I am not aware of any work
+being done to support it. If you are interested in working on it, please
+contact me.
+
+This version does not support the HP PA/RISC running HP/UX. A modified version
+of gas 1.36 which does (well enough for gcc) is available by ftp from
+jaguar.cs.utah.edu.
+
+If you try out gas on some host or target not listed above, please let me know
+the results, so I can update the list.
+
+Compiler Support Hacks
+======================
+
+The assembler has been modified to support a feature that is potentially
+useful when assembling compiler output, but which may confuse assembly
+language programmers. If assembler encounters a .word pseudo-op of the form
+symbol1-symbol2 (the difference of two symbols), and the difference of those
+two symbols will not fit in 16 bits, the assembler will create a branch around
+a long jump to symbol1, and insert this into the output directly before the
+next label: The .word will (instead of containing garbage, or giving an error
+message) contain (the address of the long jump)-symbol2. This allows the
+assembler to assemble jump tables that jump to locations very far away into
+code that works properly. If the next label is more than 32K away from the
+.word, you lose (silently); RMS claims this will never happen. If the -K
+option is given, you will get a warning message when this happens.
+
+
+REPORTING BUGS IN GAS
+=====================
+
+Bugs in gas should be reported to bug-gnu-utils@prep.ai.mit.edu. They may be
+cross-posted to bug-gcc if they affect the use of gas with gcc. They should
+not be reported just to bug-gcc, since I don't read that list, and therefore
+wouldn't see them.
-Kevin Buchs buchs@mayo.edu
+If you report a bug in GAS, please remember to include:
+
+A description of exactly what went wrong, and exactly what should have
+happened instead.
+
+The type of machine (VAX, 68020, etc) and operating system (BSD, SunOS, DYNIX,
+VMS, etc) GAS was running on.
+The configuration name(s) given to the "configure" script. The
+"config.status" file should have this information.
+
+The options given to GAS at run time.
+
+The actual input file that caused the problem.
------------------------------- README.COFF -----------------------------------
+It is silly to report a bug in GAS without including an input file for GAS.
+Don't ask us to generate the file just because you made it from files you
+think we have access to.
+
+1. You might be mistaken.
+2. It might take us a lot of time to install things to regenerate that file.
+3. We might get a different file from the one you got, and might not see any
+bug.
-If you have a COFF system, you may wish to aquire
+To save us these delays and uncertainties, always send the input file for the
+program that failed. A smaller test case that demonstrates the problem is of
+course preferable, but be sure it is a complete input file, and that it really
+does demonstrate the problem; but if paring it down would cause large delays
+in filing the bug report, don't bother.
- UUCP: osu-cis!~/gnu/coff/gnu-coff.tar.Z
- or
- FTP: tut.cis.ohio-state.edu:/pub/gnu/coff/gnu-coff.tar.Z
+If the input file is very large, and you are on the internet, you may want to
+make it avaliable for anonymous FTP instead of mailing it. If you do, include
+instructions for FTP'ing it in your bug report.
-These contain patches for gas that will make it produce COFF output.
-I have never seen these patches, so I don't know how well they work.
+If you expect to be contributing a large number of test cases, it would be
+helpful if you would look at the test suite included in the release (based on
+the Deja Gnu testing framework, available from the usual ftp sites) and write
+test cases to fit into that framework. This is certainly not required.
projects / binutils-gdb.git / commitdiff